Former Coronation Street star Tracy Shaw has shared a tearful update regarding her breast cancer diagnosis, revealing that surgery is currently not an option as her tumours have failed to shrink.
The 52-year-old actress and singer, famed for her role as Maxine Peacock in the long-running ITV soap, first announced her diagnosis in April.
She has since been providing regular updates on social media, detailing her chemotherapy journey and the challenges she faces.
Her latest emotional video, posted on Instagram on Thursday, followed an ultrasound scan, where she conveyed the difficult news that her tumours had not reduced in size, making she will not be able to have surgery at this stage.
The soap star shared a video while leaving hospital, and said: “As I told you all, I had my ultrasounds today to find out if (my) lesions had shrunk.
“I also needed to check a lump that I’d found on the other breast, the right breast.”
Shaw said her “good news” was that the lumps she found “are all cysts”, but revealed the treatment to shrink the lesions on her left breast was not as successful as she had hoped.
“I thought they’d shrunk but basically they’ve gone from being circular to oval, but not really shrunk in size. I don’t know what I was expecting,” the actress said.
She continued: “I think I’m just expecting some results of what I felt. What the body has had to go through to… I don’t know.
“Maybe a few more rounds will be all it takes but I know they can’t operate until they shrink it.
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“So I thought I would give you a live update this time. I was just expecting some… miraculous miracle. Maybe it’s to come.”
In the caption, Shaw said: “After hearing the news, went to TK max to buy more hats. Followed with a huge M&S food shop to cheer me up.
“Thank you to you all for your lovely messages.”
The comments were flooded with support from fans and fellow stars, with Waterloo Road actress Kym Marsh saying “so much love to you babe”.
Shaw is best known for her role on Coronation Street, having appeared in the soap from 1995 to 2003 before being murdered by infamous serial killer Richard Hillman (Brian Capron).
She has also appeared in other TV shows such as The Blue Room and Mile High, and embarked on a brief singing career in the late 1990s.
